It’s official: “Bangkok” is passé. “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon” is now the “more official” name of the Thai capital. At least, according to an official paper approved by The Office of Royal Society (ORST) and the cabinet of Thailand on 15 February.
In this paper, the Royal Society, the Thai language organization that also decides how Thai words should be translated and vice versa, released its latest suggested English and Thai names of various cities and territories, which have not been updated since 2001.
To the surprise of many, the list includes the new official name of Bangkok. The Royal Society now prefers calling the Thai capital “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon” (how it’s called by some Thais), to the more common English version of Bangkok, which has been used since, well, forever. The society suggests using a format where Bangkok is placed in parenthesis behind the new official name: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok).
In 2001, ORST issued a statement saying that the official English title of Thailand’s capital was “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon; Bangkok”, which means both “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon” and “Bangkok” can be used interchangeably to call the city.
Apparently, the recent updates have been approved by the cabinet, but feedback has yet to be given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The same list also sees a number of accepted variations for many international cities: both Rome and Roma for the Italian capital, Nay Pyi Taw instead of Yangon for Myanmar’s capital city, and the Thai pronunciation of Kuala Lumpur (which can now be pronounced as kua-la-lum-pu).
As expected, the name change has sparked a flurry of reactions from the public, most of whom are questioning the necessity of the change, its impact on the tourism sector and the possible confusion and consequences it will bring about.